1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and method, and more particularly, to image forming technology suitable for an image forming apparatus, such as an inkjet recording apparatus which forms images on a recording medium by ejecting liquid droplets from nozzles.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 6-91998 discloses an image output apparatus having a plurality of print heads, in which a test image is formed, and a correctional device is provided which corrects the drive signals of a plurality of print heads jointly, on the basis of the results of reading the test image.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-127375 discloses technology for performing print position adjustment processing in a recording apparatus which performs printing using a recording treatment liquid and a recording liquid, by forming a pattern in which the relative print positions of a recording print 1 and a recording print 2 are staggered, and then measuring the reflected light densities of the plurality of patterns.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-226055 discloses an inkjet recording apparatus having a control device which varies at least one of the ink ejection volume and the treatment liquid ejection volume, between a pre-processing section which forms ink dots after forming treatment liquid dots, and a post-processing section which forms treatment liquid dots after forming ink dots.
Since the wetting properties, permeability, and the like of treatment liquid and recording liquid vary between different types of recording medium (media), the optimal liquid volume of the respective liquids, and the optimal combination ratio (liquid volume ratio) also varies. However, in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 6-91998, there is no disclosure with regard to respectively optimizing the control conditions of the head for treatment liquid and the control conditions of the head for recording liquid. Furthermore, the problem resolved by the technology described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-127375 is that of aligning the print positions between a plurality of recording heads, and there is no disclosure regarding the ratio of the liquid volumes of the treatment liquid and the recording liquid.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-226055 discloses technology which controls and varies the ejection volumes of recording liquid or treatment liquid, when the droplet ejection sequence of treatment liquid and recording liquid is changed, but it does not mention technology for correcting the droplet volume ratio and the combination ratio to optimal values, depending on the type of media used.